China is not a country, but a civilization disguised as a country. Western scholar Huntington wrote this in his book "The Clash of Civilizations". Why did he come to such a conclusion?
Let’s count the history of the world in detail. As a Chinese, I feel proud. In the long history, there have been many powerful countries, including the Roman Empire , the Persian Empire , the Macedonian Empire, The Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, these powerful countries that once dominated one side have all disappeared in the long river of history. Even the other three of the four ancient civilizations that have been mentioned with us have gradually become history. There is a legend in the long river. Only China, from ancient times to the present, still stands tall and has become the only evergreen tree in the long history of thousands of years.
In fact, Huntington is right. China is not a country at all, but a civilization disguised as a country. As for why only China can be called a civilization? It can be summed up in two words: culture. The unification of culture made the development of civilization possible, and to achieve all this, we have to start with the Qin Dynasty . The emergence of Qin Shihuang made the growth of Chinese civilization possible. Qin Shihuang not only unified the chaotic The seven countries also created a centralized model of agricultural society, including four major contributions: unified writing, unified weights and measures , unified currency, and unified ruts. Among them, the unified writing made people's minds extremely unified,
At that time, each of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period had its own written language and spoke its own dialect. Writing was the carrier of culture. The unification of writing made it possible for people with different dialects to communicate. This increases people's sense of identity. Just imagine, two people speaking different dialects have been communicating for a long time, and no one understands what the other means. Just when they are about to start fighting, they think of writing and see that everyone is using The same text made me smile immediately. It turns out that we are all good brothers. This undoubtedly increases people's sense of national identity. Later, the Qin State implemented the that deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism , allowing people everywhere to unify their thoughts. Since then, a highly cohesive China has emerged.
Speaking of unification, the powerful empires of European countries have also done something to unify Europe, so why did not a single country survive in the end? Although the European powers, like Qin, conquered other countries with force, the difference is still small. policy after the conquest. After the powerful European countries conquered other countries, in addition to the different beliefs of the people in each country, the conquerors also regarded the people of other countries as inferior slaves or barbarians and looked down on them at all, while the people in the conquered areas did not He sees the empire that rules him as his destination, but sees it as nothing more than an oppressor sitting on his head. Moreover, the differences in language and writing make their communication extremely difficult, which makes it even more impossible for people from all countries to feel any sense of identity.
And how does our country do it? In addition to treating people of all ethnic groups equally, our country not only encourages people of all ethnic groups to engage in intermarriage, but also implements friendly policies that treat all ethnic groups equally and does business. This system also affects our modern society. For example, the 56 citizens of our country have always coexisted harmoniously. The general similarity of culture and ideas also gives us a strong sense of identity among our various ethnic groups. This has created the unique Chinese nation.
China is not a country, but a civilization disguised as a country. How is this civilization different from other civilizations? Why can only the Chinese civilization endure in the long river of history?
Since Qin Shihuang ushered in a new era of unification, in the following timeline, although China as a whole has been dividing for a long time, it must be united for a long time, and several different dynasties have appeared, but the emergence of one word can be well explained. Why is China a civilization disguised as a country? That is Chinese orthodoxy.On the land of China, no matter where you come from or what nation you are, as long as you want to be emperor, you must admit that you are the orthodox Chinese. If you don't admit it, these people who have called themselves descendants of Yan and Huang since Emperor Yan will not Recognizing your rule is the power of cultural identity. In history, many non-Han people have unified the Central Plains, but when they truly ascended the throne, they still had to admit that they were the inherited Chinese orthodoxy. What they said thereafter was the same Chinese also uses Chinese characters,
For example, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty Li Shimin was a member of the Hu ethnic group with Northern Zhou Xianbei descent. But after he conquered the world, he believed in Taoism and recognized Li Er as his ancestor. This operation It is to prove the legitimacy of consolidating itself as Chinese orthodoxy. Even , the Yuan Dynasty , which was the least Chineseized in the eyes of many people, was converted to Chinese civilization. It can be seen from this that although there were many dynasties in Chinese history and the ruling ethnic groups were different, in the end, the words they spoke, the words they used, and the cultural core were ultimately the same. That is the Chinese civilization
but other countries are different. The bonds that maintain cohesion between their countries are blood relations and religious relations. The culture, writing and language of each country are different, and the cultural differences are huge. The consequence of this kind of relationship is that countries start wars over little issues, and the wars continue for years. If they win, they are annexed. If they lose, they are quickly eroded by other cultures, and then they are forgotten in the long river of history. However, our Chinese culture is relatively powerful. If other cultures invade, due to the special inclusiveness of Chinese culture, not only will it not be eroded by other cultures, but it will even absorb and assimilate other cultures and become our own. . This is the uniqueness of Chinese civilization.
Western scholars say that China is not a country, but a civilization disguised as a country. Where is this sentence reflected?
In 2012, Kissinger wrote a book called " On China". In the book, he wrote that China's decline in modern history was just a brief accident in history, not the norm. And standing on top of the world most of the time is the norm for this country blessed by 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Because China is not a country in the conventional sense, but a civilization disguised as a country. This is indeed the case. Although our country has suffered countless invasions and exploitation in modern times, in the past 5,000 years of history, our country has But the existence that has always stood on top of the world is just a small accident in modern history.
Our country has not caught up with the pace of modern industrialization, resulting in temporary backwardness. However, due to the power given to us by our culture, we not only resisted the invasion of outsiders, but also in the process of modernization, gradually caught up with and surpassed many countries that once bullied us. China's achievements today are not accidental. All of this is the power that Chinese civilization brings to us.
Many people must only know that Napoleon once said that China is a sleeping lion, but many people don’t know the second half of what he said, that is, don’t disturb it, let it sleep. It can be seen that Western countries have always brought We hope that China's development will stagnate with the fear of the unknown, but how can we, who have been struggling and struggling, be at the bottom all the time? Chinese civilization has been deeply imprinted in the genes of each of us. Civilization is us, we That is civilization.
One day, Chinese civilization will stand at the top of the world again.
